Ben Yagoda has written a wonderful essay in the NYTimes, “The Perils of ‘Contact Me,’” about the kinds of e-mails authors get. I reviewed Yagoda’s book “When You Catch an Adjective, Kill It” here. You can read his new essay here: Essay – The Perils of ‘Contact Me’ – NYTimes.com.
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George Zebrowski’s “Empties” came out last year, but I’ve only recently found a very positive review of it recently. Here’s an excerpt: This is where the horror of Empties comes into play. Detective Benek becomes convinced of the identity of the killer but can do little about it. Who will believe him? If another officer […]
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OK, Albany and/or the Albany-Schenectady-Troy MSA doesn’t even rate in this list of the top 75 most literate metro areas of the U.S., but it’s good to see the hometown of Pittsburgh ranking No. 4 The full list is here: Central Connecticut State University (CCSU): Overall Rankings. The top 5 are: Seattle, WA Washington, DC Minneapolis, […]
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Skidmore professor and Victorian literature scholar Catherine Golden has been interviewed recently about e-books because she recently agreed to have one of her books published b Orange Grove Texts Plus. Here’s a snippet of what she said: The digital cannot replace the physical — there is nothing like holding a book in one’s hand, seeing the […]
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“To Kill a Mockingbird,” by Harper Lee, read by Sissy Spacek. $34.95. 11 CDs, 12 hours. Unabridged. From Caedmon. Harper Lee’s classic tale will celebrate its 50th anniversary of publication this year, and what better way to celebrate than to read or re-read this story, or listen to it. For those who aren’t familiar with […]
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That biographer would be East Chatham’s Peter Biskind, one of the driving forces behind the FilmColumbia (the annual film festival in Chatham) and the author of books on film such as “Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugs-and-Rock ‘N’ Roll Generation Saved Hollywood” and now “Star: How Warren Beatty Seduced America,” which is scheduled for […]
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Here’s a little interesting something I found when looking up something else. An outfit out in Fukuoka aims to increase the visibility of Japanese literature in translation into English. Winner Announced in 2009 Kurodahan Press Translation Prize | Kurodahan Press .
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Harry Potter, Dan Brown and Twilight sold the most books in the Zero decade (as USATODAY.com reports), but critics have pointed to other books. In a decade when terrorism has transformed the world, it seems one of the most important books of the last 10 years is the 9/11 commission’s report, though I haven’t seen it […]
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A colleague let me know that the latest book by Daniel Nester, a College of Saint Rose professor and a mover and shaker in the Capital Region literary world behind the invaluable Frequency North reading series, was going to be reviewed in the New York Times. The brief review of the Nester’s collection of essays, […]
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